The country was once again urged to shift from coal power to renewable energy, this time by a Caritas Philippines official.
Fr. Edwin Gariguez, the national secretariat for Social Action and executive secretary of Caritas Philippines said in a report that the coal situation in the Philippines poses an alarming situation.
“The issue of coal mining and the operation of coal-fired power plants all over our country is causing an alarming concern because of their harmful impacts,” he said.
Gariguez said that the extraction and utilization of fossil – fuel sources have caused health, environmental, and livelihood damages of poor communities.
“This is in total contradiction to the global consensus in the Paris climate conference, and an outright inconsistency with the country’s commitment in its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to cut 70-percent of its carbon emission by 2030,” Gariguez added.
Under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Philippines has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030.
(Read: Duterte will sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change)
However, President Rodrigo Duterte said that the Philippines need cheap energy sources, such as coal power plants to entice more investors in the country.
”Coal, it’s the cheapest and probably if we use the modern technology, it’s the safest. Just be careful with the operation,” Duterte said at the inauguration of the 135 megawatt Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion Power Plant at Malacanang.
(Read: Duterte: Cheap energy source could entice investors in the Philippines)
